DECEMBER 15, 2025 — Eric I. Goldberg, a distinguished consumer financial services attorney with broad experience in government and private practice, has joined Davis Wright Tremaine LLP as a partner in Seattle.
Goldberg brings to the firm more than 20 years of experience in the consumer financial services sector, including six and a half years as regulatory counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and, most recently, seven years as a partner at Akerman LLP in Washington, D.C. He's a highly regarded subject matter expert on a range of lending, payment, digital asset, and fintech products, including "buy now pay later" and earned wage access service.
"Eric's broad contacts and trusted relationships will accelerate the growth of our national financial services practice," said Andrew Lorentz, Washington, D.C.-based practice co-chair at DWT. "With his high-powered regulatory expertise and strong business acumen, he will help chart new pathways to success for our clients."
"Eric is expert in the consumer financial services regulations governing payments and lending and the business models that drive the growth in fintech and digital assets," said Andrew Melnick, practice co-chair in New York. "At a time of warp-speed change in this area, he will deepen our bench strength while complementing our existing banking expertise. He will also help to solidify our longstanding position of leadership in the Seattle market and add to the national footprint of our practice."
DWT's financial services team has been recognized as a national leader by ranking organizations that include Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and Legal 500. Goldberg is the fourth lateral partner to join the group in the last nine months.
"The acceleration of DWT's financial services practice in recent years has been impossible to miss," said Goldberg. "This is clearly a firm where ambitious attorneys find the collaboration and support they need to expand their practices and elevate their client service. I'm excited to be here and look forward to giving my clients access to the deep expertise of the team at DWT."
Goldberg is ranked as a nationwide leader in Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) in the 2025 Chambers USA guide to the legal market. He has published and spoken widely on regulatory issues surrounding cryptocurrency, prepaid accounts, money transmission licensing, and many other topics. He was most recently a featured speaker at a Consumer Bankers Association webinar, addressing the legal and regulatory implications of agentic AI in consumer payments.
During his tenure as managing counsel at the CFPB, Goldberg played a key role in the bureau's payments oversight, including leading the agency's policy work on deposit accounts, remittance transfers, credit cards, virtual currency, and open banking. Prior to joining the CFPB, Goldberg was an associate at Goodwin Procter LLP, where he defended large financial institutions in putative class actions arising under multiple federal and state consumer finance laws. He also represented clients in other industries in complex litigation.
Goldberg received his bachelor's degree from Haverford College and his J.D. at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. After law school, he clerked for U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
About Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. Learn more at www.dwt.com.